


Crows

by Illiad_And_Oddity



Series: Domesticity [1]
Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Clear makes a friend, Domestic Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-11 01:29:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5608606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Illiad_And_Oddity/pseuds/Illiad_And_Oddity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As far as Mink had seen, there wasn't a single living thing, human or animal, that didn't immediately take to Clear.  It was like dating a fairytale princess.</p>
<p>(Shameless domestic fluff.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crows

**Author's Note:**

> Kicking the New Year off with some Minkuri domesticity! My resolutions this year include posting more often, let's see if I can stick to it.

Mink was generally an early riser, even on days where he wasn't going down the mountain to work, although he would have liked to sleep in more. Clear didn't need to sleep, of course, so he took it upon himself to make coffee for Mink every morning, which always made it easier to get out of bed.

Clear was looking out the window when Mink came into the kitchen, following the smell of coffee.

"Oh, Mink-san!" Clear said, "There are birds all over the garden."

"That's why we put the chicken wire up," Mink replied, largely unconcerned, "They won't be able to get at the plants easily."

They'd spent a weekend enclosing the garden in a large chicken-wire cage last month, when the strawberries had started to ripen. Getting the plants to take had been hard enough, and Mink had no intention of letting the animals get to them before he had a chance to eat any. It wouldn't keep out everything, but it did a good job at deterring most of the pests, particularly deer and rabbits.

He stopped by the window, focused more on the way the morning light caught Clear's hair than on any potential pests in the garden.

"What are they called?" Clear asked. He liked to learn the names for things in English – and Mink's language, where Mink could recall the words. Mink hadn't spoken his people's language regularly since he was a child, not at all since they'd been killed, and he'd forgotten a lot of it. He did try to pass on what he could remember, though.

He looked out the window and sighed when he saw the black birds sitting on the wire cage, "Crows. And we should probably chase them off. They're smart enough to figure out how to get inside."

"It looks like one already did," Clear said, pointing, “See?”

Mink looked more closely, and sighed. There was a crow inside the chicken-wire cage, clinging to the roof and looking as put out as Mink thought it was possible for a crow to look. He swore internally, but out loud, he said, “I think it's stuck. Go grab a towel and we'll see if we can catch it.”

“Alright,” Clear said.

Mink went outside, letting the door shut behind him with a much louder bang than usual, which startled most of the crows off the garden. The rest scattered when he approached. They didn't go far, landing in the trees and beginning to loudly scold him as he opened the door and went into the garden.

He opened the gate to the garden and stepped inside. The crow scolded him as he approached, and he saw that the bird was tangled the string keeping the roof attached to the frame.

"Well, you've certainly gotten yourself into some trouble," he said, amused.

Clear came into the garden behind him, "I found a towel!"

Mink held out his hand for the towel and Clear gave it to him. Ignoring the crow's indignant cawing, he carefully wrapped the towel around the bird to keep it from thrashing around.

"Clear, it's tangled in the string. I'll hold it still, you untie it."

"Okay!" Clear said brightly, coming closer. He unwrapped the string from around the bird's feet and it came loose.

Mink kept the towel wrapped around the bird until they were safely outside of the chicken-wire. It had stopped crowing, which Clear commented on.

"It must realize we're trying to help it," he said.

"Or it's too scared to do anything," Mink replied. He set the towel down on the ground and carefully unwrapped the bird. It held still for a moment, then took off in a flurry of feathers and cawing. It didn't go far, landing on the corner of the roof and continuing to swear at them.

Clear frowned at it, "That's not very nice! We helped you."

The crow cawed again, apparently not caring. Mink smiled, and patted Clear's shoulder.

"It'll get over it," Mink said, "Crows scream about everything."

"I see," Clear said. He held up his hand to the crow, "It's okay. I promise we're nice."

The crow tilted its head to the side, looking at them. After a moment, it glided down from the roof and landed on Clear's outstretched hand, much to Mink's surprise.

The crow cawed at him and ruffled its feathers, but didn't take off again.

Clear beamed, "I think it likes me, Mink-san!"

"I really shouldn't be surprised," Mink said. As far as he had seen, there wasn't a single living thing, human or animal, that didn't immediately take to Clear. It was like dating a fairytale princess. He couldn't help but smile as he added, "I think you and that crow are similar."

Clear looked at him, obviously confused "Eh? But it's a bird."

Mink reached out and smoothed a bit of Clear's hair, "You remind me of a young crow sometimes."

Clear looked even more confused, then his nose wrinkled, "Oh, you're teasing me. I don't look anything like a crow!"

Mink smiled, "No, you don't look like a crow. But crows are intelligent, curious, fearless -" the crow cawed loudly, interrupting Mink, and he added, "-talkative. Not to mention they love shiny things as much as you do."

Clear's cheeks had gone pink, “You think all those things about me?”

“I wouldn't say it if I didn't.”

Clear beamed at him. The crow took off in the direction of the trees and the rest of its flock, and Clear laughed as it went.

“I guess it got bored,” he said, bending down to pick up the towel. “But look, Mink-san, it left us a gift!”

There was a single feather stuck in the towel. Mink picked it up and smoothed it out.

“Can you use it?” Clear asked.

“I see no reason why I can't.” His people hadn't really used crow feathers in their ornaments, but there was no _rule_ against it.

Besides, he thought, the black feather would look lovely in Clear's hair.


End file.
